THE STAGES OF SUPERHERO NARRATIVES

In War, Politics and Superheroes: Ethics and Propaganda in Comics and Films, Marc DiPaolo believes that superhero narratives which span for decades, typically undergo four stages. 

In the first stage, the creator puts in a lot of effort into his character, adding his political and cultural beliefs. The process is not done for material reasons. In the second stage, the creator stops writing for his character. DiPaulo lists a number of reasons: the creator becomes disenchanted with his character, he retires or dies, or he is financially dissatisfied. Consequently, the publisher takes control of the character.

While the publisher tries to mimic the style of the original creator, the new version of the character does not live up to its original and the fans become dissatisfied. As a result, in the third stage, the publishers hire a new writer who provides a "disconstructionist take on the character"  (31). The new view is particularly destructive for the character, so, after the phase ends, the publishers are at a loss as to what direction the character is heading. Consequently, in the fourth stage, the publisher hires fan-writers: 

who grew up reading the characters and know by heart all of the adventures produced during stages one through three, and have a complete vision of the character as it was originally intended to be, as it was massmarketed to parents and children, and as it was psychoanalyzed, killed, and dissected during the 1980s (32).

The fourth stage is, according to DiPaolo, particularly divisive. The narratives which result are "either adored or loathed" (32). The revised version of Batman is, according to the author, seen as a success (comics, animated series, film adaptations), due to its heightened realism. On the other hand, "the stage four versions of Spider-Man [...] were embraced by the public at large, but were too post-modern and sly in their tone to appeal to a small, hardcore base of fans, who [...] enjoy  only the adventures [...] produced in stage one" (32). 

WRITTEN AND EDITED BY ANTONIA GIRMACEA

COMICS AND POLITICAL PROPAGANDA

In War, Politics and Superheroes: Ethics and Propaganda in Comics and Film, one of the main arguments made by its author, Marc DiPaolo, is that the superheros featured in comics or TV shows frequently influence "American public opinion and U.S. government policy" (1). According to DiPaolo, since the terrorist attacks of September 11, comics have become more popular, particularly "superhero narratives" (1). He cites superheroes such as Wonder Woman and Spider Man as examples of characters who encourage views on anti-establishment. 

Mark Millar, the author of famous comics such as Wanted and Kick-Ass, echoes DiPaolo's views, by stating that superhero comics are "at their most popular and evocative when they respond to particularly turbulent political times, especially those marred by war and social unrest" (1). DiPaolo then goes on to expand on Millar's views, by citing World War II, the Vietnam War, and the war in Iraq as periods when comics enjoyed an increased level of popularity. Superheroes such as Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman first appeared during "the Great Depression and World War II era" (2), whereas Spiderman, the Fantastic Four, X-men, Iron Man, and the Hulk, were created in the sixties. 

DiPaulo also adds that Reagan's administration was one of the main causes why, during the eighties, the stories of the previously mentioned superheroes were "all radically revamped; their serialized stories began anew with a retelling of their origin stories set in the present of the 1980s" (2). He also adds that the heroism of these characters was largely "defined either in support of, or in opposition to, Ronald Reagan's America" (2).

DiPaolo states that comic books "have always been political, and have taken stands on controversial issues such as the death penalty, abortion, gay rights, and the environment" (11). He gives an example of an issue of Captain America fro 1941, in which Jewish writers opted to depict Hitler as a supervillain, "before the U.S. had entered World War II" (11).

One of the most well known examples of the way in which comics and politics intersect is represented by the introduction of Tony Stark in 1963, "who built his first, crude Iron Man battle-suit as a means of escaping from a Communist prison camp in South Vietnam" (12). This choice of location coincides with the Vietnam War, which was taking place at the time. The 2008 movie adaptation of Iron Man, starring Robert Downey Jr., changes the location to Afghanistan and introduces a terrorist group holding Tony Stark captive, to mirror the current political climate.

According to DiPaolo, "politically themed superhero adventures tend to fall into three different categories: establishment, anti-establishment, and colonial" (12). In the establishment narrative, the superhero aims at protecting the government and the citizens from villains (Batman, Iron Man, Captain America). The anti-establishment narrative, on the other hand, puts the superhero against the evil and corrupt government (Wonder Woman, X-men). Finally, the colonial category sees the hero as a traveler to a space seen as being uncivilized, in order to make use of its natural resources or to civilize it (Indiana Jones). 

It should be noted that the characters' political views are often a reflection of the views held by the writers. Therefore, DiPaolo states that it is possible for the same character to have a liberal ideology while portrayed by one writer, and then shift to a conservative ideology when the writer changes. An example would be Green Arrow, a "Robin Hood-like" (14) figure, first seen as a "Marxist revolutionary figure" (14) and later on as more moderate in his views, when the first writer was succeeded by others. The changes in ideology are often accounted due to America's social context, or simply due to the fact that "the character is going through a phase" (14).

Another interesting aspect is the way in which comics were used to criticize the Bush administration. DiPaolo mentions Superman comics as being the first monthly periodicals to openly state their dissatisfaction:

On the eve of George W. Bush’s real world installation into the White House, writer Jeph Loeb crafted a story in which Superman villain and amoral robber baron Lex Luthor is elected President of the United States in the fictional world of the DC Universe. When asked by a fan why anyone in their right mind would vote for Lex Luthor—the lunatic who dropped a nuclear bomb on California in the first Superman film as part of an elaborate plan to make a billion dollars on a real estate swindle—Loeb replied, “This is almost too easy ... who’s president now?” (26)

Finally, DiPaolo offers an interesting piece of advice regarding the way in which politics operates within a comic book:

In understanding how political symbolism and subtext work in superhero stories, it is important to be aware that the politics of a given storyteller and the politics of the individual fan often determine how that story is received. It is also important to be aware of industry trends, and the life cycles of long-lasting fictional characters that have changed over time, not only because of historical trends, shifting fan bases, and the idiosyncrasies of individual storytellers, but also for marketing reasons. (30)

WRITTEN BY ANTONIA GIRMACEA
EDITED BY MADALINA BORCAU

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Works Cited:

Alaniz, José. Komics: Comics Art in Russia. Mississippi: The University Press of Mississippi. 2010. Web

Coogan, Peter. Superhero: The Secret Origin of a Genre. Austin: Monkey Brain Books. 2006. Print.

Barris, Jeremy. "Plato, Spider-Man and the Meaning of Life." Ed. Jeff McLaughlin. Comics as Philosophy. N.p.: University of Mississippi, 2005. 63-84. Print.

DiPaolo, Marc. War, Politics and Superheroes: Ethics and Propaganda in Comics and Film. London: McFarland and Company. 2011. PDF.

Duncan, Randy Smith, Mathiew. J. The Power of Comics:History, Form and Culture. New York: The Continuum International Publishing Group. 2009. Web.

Harvey, Robert C. "Describing and Discarding “Comics” as an Impotent Act of Philosophical Rigor." Ed. Jeff McLaughlin. Comics as Philosophy. N.p.: University of Mississippi, 2005. 14-27. Print

Harvey, R. C. "The Comics Journal." The Comics Journal Defining Comics Again Another in the Long List of Unnecessarily Complicated Definitions Comments. N.p., 20 Dec. 2010. Web. 13 June 2013. < http://classic.tcj.com/top-stories/defining-comics-again-another-in-the-long-list-of-unnecessarily-complicated-definitions/>

Holmes, Mr. "Forum." Web log comment. 6 Ways Bruce Wayne Has Ruined Contemporary Comics. Comic Vine, 20 Apr. 2013. Web. 10 June 2013. <http://www.comicvine.com/batman/4005-1699/forums/6-ways-bruce-wayne-has-ruined-contemporary-comics-1455768/>.

Lyga, Allyson. A.W. Lyga, Berry Graphic Novels in your Media Center: A Definitive Guide. Westport. Conn: Libraries Unlimited, 2004. Print.

Maddox, Dante R. "Batman: 6 Ways Bruce Wayne Has Ruined Contemporary Comics." Web log post. WhatCulture! Dante R Maddox, 9 Apr. 2013. Web. 10 June 2013. <http://whatculture.com/comics/batman-6-ways-bruce-wayne-has-ruined-contemporary-comics.php/3>.

McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art. New York: Harper Perennial.1993. Print.

Mc Kinney, Mark. (editor) History and Politics in French Language Comics and Graphic Novels. Mississippi: The University Press of Mississippi. 2010. Web

McLaughlin, Jeff. "Introduction." Comics as Philosophy. N.p.: University of Mississippi, 2005. Xi-Xix. Print.

Meskin, Aaron. "The Philosophy of Comics | Aaron Meskin - Academia.edu." The Philosophy of Comics | Aaron Meskin - Academia.edu. University of Leeds, n.d. Web. 10 June 2013. <http://www.academia.edu/820674/The_Philosophy_of_Comics>.

Orr, Tamra. Manga Artists. New York: The Rosen Publising Book. 2009. Web

Roger, Sabin. Comics, Comix and Graphic Novels:A History of Comic Art. London: Phandon Press Ltd. 1996. Print.

Wolk, Douglas. Reading Comics:How Graphic Novels Work and What They Mean. Philadelphia: Da Capo Press. 2007. Print.

Wong , Wendy S. Hong Kong Comics: A History of Manhua. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2002. Web.

Vassilikopoulou Marianthi, Michael Boloudakis and Symeon Retalis From Digitised Comic Books to Digital Hypermedia  Comic Books: Their Use in  Education.  Piraeus University. 2004.  PDF.

Uncited References

http://www.dundee.ac.uk/postgraduate/courses/comics_studies_mlitt.htm

http://mcad.edu/academic-programs/comic-art

http://www.english.ufl.edu/comics/study.shtml

http://www.imageandnarrative.be/inarchive/graphicnovel/olefrahm.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comics_vocabulary 

http://www.vakil.org/page/10/?s=blog

http://www.slashgear.com/sg-comics-presents-updates-gone-wrong-28136514/

http://thecitybreak.ro/columna-lui-traian-trajans-column-poi/

http://www.medievalists.net/2012/11/15/new-research-on-how-the-bayeux-tapestry-was-made/

http://captain-regenold.deviantart.com/art/Asterix-and-Obelix-Dogmatix-178711283

http://comicsresearch.blogspot.ro/2009/07/cfp-studies-in-comics-journal-september.html

COMICS STUDIES WORLDWIDE

             Due to the development of the industry and the people’s continuous interest in comics, educational systems have set up courses and have begun to deeply analyze the subject. Comics studies is an academic field that focuses on comics and graphic novels.  Among the most prominent scolars that have studied and theoretized on comic studies there are Will Eisner with his work Comics and Sequential Art published in 1985,  Scott McCloud with his writing Understanding Comics published in 1993,  Coulton Waugh attempted the first comprehensive history of American comics with The Comics published in 1947 and  David Carrier's The Aesthetics of Comics (2000) where the author talks about comics from a philosophical perspective.

EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS 

Comics studies is becoming increasingly more common within academic institutions across the world. Some notable examples include: University of Florida, (one of the premier academic institutions for studying comics, animation and other forms of visual rhetoric in North America. For MA and PhD, students can choose the Comics and Visual Rhetoric track when pursuing a degree) or Dundee University in the U.K. At Dundee University, a Literary Festival is organized annually and Comics Day is part of this festival. Dundee is also the home of D-Con, an annual Manga festival.

Other examples: University of Toronto at Mississauga, and University of California Santa Cruz.

PUBLICATIONS

            Scholarly publications dedicated to comics studies are growing both online and in print.  ImageTexT is a peer reviewed, open access journal based at the University of Florida. The journal Studies in Comics based at the University of Dundee, U.K. is edited from within the programme Comics Studies.  There are many others in circulation, such as European Comic Art, Image and Narrative, and the International Journal of Comic Art.

WRITTEN BY RUXANDRA MANEA
EDITED BY ANTONIA GIRMACEA

COMICS AND EDUCATION

As Vassilikopoulou Marianthi, Michael Boloudakis and Symeon Retalis professors at the University of Piraeus, Greece, state in their article entitled From Digitised Comic Books to Digital Hypermedia  Comic Books: Their Use in  Education:

 The educational potential of comics is an issue worth researching. From the early 40’s many educators in USA such as W. W. D. Sones (1944) and others conducted a series of studies on using comic books in education, providing data for its usefulness. Comics-supported curriculum appeared, while the Journal of Educational Sociology devoted the 1944's Volume 18, Issue 4 to the topic. On the other hand other educational scientists regarded comics harmful for literacy and eventually the impetus of pro-comics educators stopped. (1)

Nowadays, there is a controversy regarding the use of comics in education. It has been a subject of debate since their creation in the 1930`s.  Those who do use them as educational tools support the idea because they consider that comics engage creatively  and motivate students to study, by providing them with a means to remember better what they have learned.

           In the article mentioned above, the three professors conduct a research in order to see the effectiveness of  comics in education. The use of comics in education is based on Clark & Paivio’s dual code theory which emphasizes the importance of imagery in cognitive operations.

Twenty-two student teachers with a range of experience and science backgrounds (the majority of them were teachers of primary and secondary schools) were asked:

•       To interpret (decode) the given comic book;
•    To create a concept map of the main ideas;
•    To create their own comic book in order to teach a subject

        Through questionnaires and interviews with the student-teachers, the following results emerged vis-a-vis comics as a lesson-plan innovative tool:

        Their feelings about the use of comics as learning tool were more positive. Almost all of them had positive feelings about this approach. Typical comments were that the approach was “interesting”, “easy to understand”, “have quick results” “offers intimacy with the characters”, “creative freedom”, “focusing on key points”. “opportunity for metacognition” “alternative ways to set up lessons” “visualise the concepts”, “retain in memory”, “best results when it used complimentary”, “intermediate step to more complicated concepts”, “identification with hero or heroine”, “experience of vicarious satisfaction”, “raise the interest of reluctant readers”, “learn through playing”, “makes fun out of learning”, “motivating”, “gain attention”. All of them agreed that they can use the strategy in their own teaching in primary and secondary schools in a variety of school subjects. (5)

The authors of the study conclude that: 

The research confirmed what is generally believed about the strengths of comics in education and the added value of digital hypermedia comics. Generally the attitudes of the student teachers to this approach were generally favourable. Nearly all of the student-teachers held positive views about the value of comics as a teaching approach.(5)

 Comics have also been used as a medium to communicate health care information on subjects such as diabetes.

              In the USA, the use of comics for education, via the Internet, can be seen on Comics in the Classroom, and the state of Maryland's Comic Book Initiative. Professional development content on how teachers can integrate comics in the classroom is available through the State of California Department of Education's Brokers of Expertis website.

WRITTEN BY RUXANDRA MANEA

EDITED BY ANTONIA GIRMACEA

READING COMICS

Reading comics is altogether a different experience from that of reading a novel. Due to this fact, people who approach comics for the first time might find it difficult to follow the narrative, due to the fact that they are expecting to read it as they would read a novel. Reading comics involves a thorough comprehension of both text and images; the meaning of the story is conveyed through image and text, and it might seem difficult at first to ‘read’ both of them at once. In his book Comics, Comix and Graphic Novels: A History of Comic Art Sabin Roger points out the fact that

 The novice comics reader’s question is, ‘Which do you look at first, the words or the pictures?’ The answer is that you look at both of them at once. On a first reading, at least, it’s possible to take in a comics panel’s picture in just about exactly the time it takes to read the associated words  (Roger 129).

Therefore, comics should be read as a complex narrative which incorporates both images and text. The absence of either text or images is always deliberate and always bears narrative importance. For example, absence of text is usually interpreted as a break. The fact that the image is not accompanied by text signals a break in the narrative and leaves the reader somewhat puzzled. The cognitive process involved in the interpretation of this absence as a break is the following: the reader reaches a narrative stage which forces him to slow down and try to understand this sudden change. Without the help of language, the reader needs to stop and try to fill in the gap left by the absence of language. According to Roger Sabin,

   Without language acting as a ‘timer’ or contextual cue for understanding the image, every visual change causes the reader to stop and assess what exactly is happening, and how long it’s supposed to take (Roger 129).

It is also important to mention the fact that comics tend to flow and suggest motion. Furthermore, the way in which panels connect with each other stimulates the reader’s imagination. To be more specific, as pointed out by Roger Sabin, once the reader has read an individual panel, his/her mind does immediately decode the message contained in the next panel, but focuses on the space between panels. Therefore, the reader anticipates the content of the next panel before actually reading it. It is this active reading process that makes the reading of comics a particularly pleasurable activity:

Leaps of the imagination are an enormous pleasure, and comics are particularly good at sparking them. Their narrative is one kind of guide; their style is another. They’re full of enticing black spaces, in both space and time, for readers to decorate in our minds. (Roger 133)

WRITTEN BY MADALINA BORCAU

EDITED BY ANTONIA GIRMACEA 

CARTOONING

Unlike drawing, cartooning is a technique of distortion and abstraction. Cartooning involves a process of simplifications, which has led to the development of a shared understanding of signs. Scott McCloud argues that people tend to react better to simplified drawings, rather than to complex and extremely detailed representations. 

Furthermore, comics are supposed to be read as stories, and it is generally easier to represent fictional people and places by using cartooning, rather than drawing. This happens due to the fact that the degree of realism involved in cartooning is minimal, and therefore the image perceived is not automatically linked to a real person or place. 

Cartooning requires a lot of talent and patience, and each artist develops his or own style. The signature of each artist consists in the manner of representing the image, but also in the way in which he or she manages to render the image as distorted and abstracted as possible, while making sure it stays intelligible. 

It is also important to mention the fact that, due to fact that comics readers have grown extremely familiar with the abstraction used in cartooning, they find it strange when realistic drawings are inserted into the narrative.

Cartooning and drawing remain the most popular types of illustration in comics, although other types – such as photo-comics and painted comics – do exist. Roger Sabin points out the fact that painted comics are often a more sophisticated version of pen-and-ink cartooning. The advantage of painted comics over traditional pen-and-ink illustration is that paint allows for a greater degree of abstraction. Nonetheless, not many cartoonists have taken advantage of this fact.

Finally, it is important to mention the fact that cartooning ultimately conveys the artist’s vision. As Roger Sabin put it,

   The fact that drawing style is the most immediate aspect of comics means that what you see when you look at a comics book is a particular, personal version of its artist’s vision – not what the artist’s eye sees, but the way the artist’s mind interprets sight. (Roger 125).

WRITTEN BY MADALINA BORCAU

EDITED BY ANTONIA GIRMACEA 

THE CREATION OF A COMIC BOOK: A TEAM PROJECT

When talking about the creative team that designed the comic book, one has in mind the writer and the artist. In Randy Duncan`s and Mathiew J. Smith`s book, The Power of Comics: History, Form and Culture, they use the term “source“ for designing the creator.

The source is the comic book creator or creators. The order in which the creative components are presented is deliberate, beginning with those creative roles that are most related with invention (idea, purpose, story). (8)

The writer creates the comic book by producing the full script, often in a panel-by-panel, page-by-page form to guide the artist, often detailing dialogue, actions, thoughts, motives, expressions, similar to a screenplay.  The writer can work alone, or in collaboration with other writers, in order to produce the script for the comic books.

Most often the idea of a comic book begins with the writer, a wordsmith who outlines the plot, describes scenes and actions and provides dialogue for characters and narrators.(8)

The artist is the one whose main role is to create the artwork. The term “artist“ is often interchangeable with “penciler“. That is because the initial work is done in pencil, in order to correct the possible mistakes.

 Some writer and penciller (a penciller is the artist who does the pencil drawings of the images in a comic book) teams collaborate very closely on the creation of stories.  However it is generally the writer who creates the story whether in the form of  a one-paragraph synopsis or detailed panel-by-panel descriptions. (8)

The other members of the creative team are the inker, the colorist, the letterer and the editor.

The inker supplements and enhances the pencil artwork in order to define the artwork for the colorist and for the printing process. Even if it may not seem so, his job is really important when it comes to creating emotional impact and then selling the product. As the same Randy Duncan and Mathiew J. Smith argue in The Power of Comics:

Even when the penciller provides very tight, detailed drawings, the inker still makes an important contribution to the style of the message, which can influence the readers affective (emotive) and cognitive (thinking) reactions to the art style (8)

Nowadays, computer art programs have replaced the role of the inker by digitally darkening the artwork. The role of the colorist is to add color to the artwork, either by hand or on computer. In the past, the colorist used to work directly on the original artwork, but nowadays due to computer technology, the coloring is done digitally. The colorist is the one who makes the final decision regarding the palette of colors for the comic book.  The colorist has also responsible for emotionally involving the readers, because by using certain colors, the characters' actions may seem more dramatic or funny.

With modern color processes that allow for more subtle and sophisticated use of colors, the colorist also contributes to the message. Receivers can have affective reactions to color: reds and oranges can agitate, blues and greens can calm and so forth. Colors have also cognitive assosiations (purple for royalty) that can be exploited to create meaning. (8)

The letterer is the individual who places word balloons and captions on the finished artwork and fills them with words based on the script. Typically this is the last stage in a comic book's production, although the letterer may liaise with the artist initially to make sure there will be space to fit the speech bubbles into the artwork.

            The editor is the one who is responsible for the correction of mistakes, or for the story glitches that may appear in the comic book, or for the mismanagement of the creative team.

An editor coordinates the publication of a comic book, including hiring the creative talent and supervising the various stages of production.(8)

In this industry, the writer and the artist are considered the two main producers of the comic books. Sometimes the artist is  also called “cartoonist‘‘. This is because sometimes the vision of the whole story, in the artistic sense, is entirely his.

Panels are individual images containing a segment of action, often surrounded by a border. Prime moments in a narrative are broken down into panels via a process called encapsulation. In their book, The Power of Comics, Randy Duncan and Mathiew Smith define encapsulation as “the selection of key moments of action such as layout or composition“ (5).

            The reader puts the pieces together by using background knowledge and an understanding of panel relations to combine panels mentally into events, in a process called "closure". The contents of a panel may by asynchronous, with events depicted in the same image not necessarily occurring at the same time.

Text is frequently incorporated into comics via speech balloons, captions, and sound effects. Speech balloons indicate dialogue with tails pointing at their respective speakers. Bubbles which represent an internal dialogue are referred to as "thought balloons". The shape of the balloon indicate the type of dialogue contained.  Thought balloons are more cloud-like and connected to the owner by a series of small bubbles. Speech bubbles used to represent screaming or anger tend to be spiky, and square boxes have been used to represent dialogue spoken by robots or computers. Whispers are usually represented by balloons made up of broken lines.

Comic book captions are used as  a narrative device in order to convey information impossible to rephrase by art or speech. Captions can replace thought bubbles . As Berry and  Allyson Lyga state in their book Graphic Novels in Your Media Center:A definitive Guide, captions are:

Boxes on a comic book page that contains text... While sometimes used to convey dialogue, they are more often used to impart a character's thoughts or as a narrative device (161)

Sound effects and environmental sounds are presented without balloons, in bold. Percussive sounds usually have exclamation points. Usually, they are drawn to emphasize their nature such as, for example, the sound effect from a fast race car.

Some effects often used in comics are the ones listed below:

•       BAM! (pistol shot)

•       SPANG! (bullet hitting metal)

•       SPLAT! (bullet hitting masonry or concrete)

•       WANG! KAWUNNGG! (bullet hit with ricochet)

•       POW! (fist hitting chin)

•       SOK! (fist hitting chin)

•       CRAK! (nightstick hitting skull)

•       CRACK! (wrench hitting skull)

•       CREAK! (squeaky door opening)

•       EEEEEEEEEE! (scream)

•       CRASH! (furnishings being destroyed in a fight) 

WRITTEN BY RUXANDRA MANEA

EDITED BY ANTONIA GIRMACEA AND EDUARD GHITA

CATEGORIES OF PRODUCTION. AUTEUR THEORY

According to comics scholar Mark C. Rogers, one can delineate two broad categories of production which occur in the American comic industry (cf. Duncan & Smith 113-7):

1.      The Industrial Process.

 It involves a number of collaborators that perform specialized tasks: editor, writer, penciller, letterer, inker and colorist. It is informed by the “cog in the machine” rationale whereby one piece in the mechanism is easily replaced if need arises. If say, the penciller doesn’t want to do his job anymore, then a new one is hired. The specialization of labour is effective, all the more that this category generally accommodates a “mainstream tendency”. The collaboration per se was mostly done in “The Marvel Method”, focusing on eleven steps which start with the idea and end with the printed comic book.

2.      The Artisan Process.

This category accommodates people who fulfill the roles of both writer and artist, and sometimes maybe other jobs as well.

The so-called “alternative comic books“, unlike their “industrial” counterpart have usually fewer than 50,000 readers, and often less. They are characterized by small runs – fewer copies as opposed to mainstream publishers (often in excess of 100,000 copies) (cf. 116-7).

Comparing the artisan with the industrial process, Rogers noted:

While I do not wish to suggest that the artisan method is inherently artistically superior to the industrial method, artisan production has tended to produce comics more varied in scope and more interesting aesthetically. Industrialized production is limiting in and of itself; the fact that it is used to produce comics mostly in the superhero genre makes it even more limiting. There are, of course, plenty of exceptions to this. There are many examples of creators who work well within the context of the specialization of labor caused by the industrial process and many examples of cartoonists who work alone and produce bad comics. (117)

Will Eisner believed that “the ideal writing process occurs where the writer and artist are the same person” (cf.117). In the 50’s, French film critic Francois Truffant developed the auteur theory to explain how out of collaborative work, a single artistic vision could emerge. Extended to comics, the auteur theory postulates that in the team work, a single and personal artistic vision emerges, whether that of a cartoonist or a writer. (cf. 117)

The auteur theory identifies certain characteristics of auteurs (cf. 117-8)

1.      Technical competence in using the art form: understanding how to use encapsulation, layout, and composition to effectively tell a story. 

Frank Miller, creator of Sin City and 300 is known for his ability to depict moments of powerful action using stark contrasts of shadow and light. The overall granular texture accounts for the roughness of the moment.

2. Recurrence of certain themes across works.

 Jim Starlin weaving epic tales of cosmic forces: Dreadstar, Adam Warlock and Thanos

3. Stylistic traits: particular writing style, drawing particular layouts etc.

Will Eisner’s unique style of variating his Spirit strip.

4. Collaboration: working with the same co-creators time and again.

Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale have repeatedly teamed up to produce projects for DC (Batman: The Long Halloween) and Marvel (Daredevil: Yellow)

5. Borrowing and reworking of ideas and styles from other outstanding creators.

Erik Larsen draws his Savage Dragon in a bombastic style reminiscent of the artwork of Jack Kirby.

WRITTEN BY EDUARD GHITA

EDITED BY ANTONIA GIRMACEA